Mark S Bailen
@marksbailen.bsky.social
Writer, illustrator, fake-nature photographer
fakemountain.com
fakemountain.com
I have a new piece up at McSWEENEY's! www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/peo...
People Are Dying to Eat at Our Insufferable Pop-Up Restaurant
Hooray, you’re on the list. Take this buzzer, stand across the street in that puddle, and wait for a little shock. The estimated wait time is six h...
www.mcsweeneys.net
October 22, 2025 at 5:10 PM
I have a new piece up at McSWEENEY's! www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/peo...
Spent a few weeks hanging out in Sydney. . . more at fakemountain.com.
September 8, 2025 at 2:22 PM
Spent a few weeks hanging out in Sydney. . . more at fakemountain.com.
I spent a week a few weeks in New Zealand where I learned about a pernicious invasive species: Lord of the Rings Film Locations. More at fakemountain.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:06 PM
I spent a week a few weeks in New Zealand where I learned about a pernicious invasive species: Lord of the Rings Film Locations. More at fakemountain.com
Reposted by Mark S Bailen
In Zed Nelson’s photographs of zoos, aquariums, resorts, and other artificial settings, the natural world has been reproduced, reshuffled, and repackaged, sold to visitors in the form of spectacle.
The Futility of Simulating Nature
In “The Anthropocene Illusion,” the photographer Zed Nelson captures how the natural world has been reproduced, reshuffled, and repackaged, sold to visitors in the form of spectacle.
www.newyorker.com
August 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
In Zed Nelson’s photographs of zoos, aquariums, resorts, and other artificial settings, the natural world has been reproduced, reshuffled, and repackaged, sold to visitors in the form of spectacle.
posted some fake-nature pics (fakemountain.com) from my a week in Bali where I got to experience DREAM EARTH ALIVE FUTURE. . . or DEAF for short. . . Probably from the sound of all those motorbikes.
July 31, 2025 at 11:55 PM
posted some fake-nature pics (fakemountain.com) from my a week in Bali where I got to experience DREAM EARTH ALIVE FUTURE. . . or DEAF for short. . . Probably from the sound of all those motorbikes.
So my wife and I braved the lush plastic jungle and now I’m convinced. . . Rainforest Cafe is a portal to hell. fakemountain.com
June 18, 2025 at 4:14 PM
So my wife and I braved the lush plastic jungle and now I’m convinced. . . Rainforest Cafe is a portal to hell. fakemountain.com
Went to Kansas this weekend and took a lousy photo of a Pony Express Rider (little smudge on the right). . . not sure how he’s gonna get around that fence.
April 30, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Went to Kansas this weekend and took a lousy photo of a Pony Express Rider (little smudge on the right). . . not sure how he’s gonna get around that fence.
Reposted by Mark S Bailen
Mark S Bailen’s short story “Bears Discover Time Travel” is free to read online for the next two weeks!
ecotonemagazine.org/fiction/bear...
@marksbailen.bsky.social
ecotonemagazine.org/fiction/bear...
@marksbailen.bsky.social
Bears Discover Time Travel - Ecotone
First of all, nobody gets eaten by a bear in this story. Nor does a tree fall on anybody. That’s not what this story is about. And I apologize for
ecotonemagazine.org
February 13, 2025 at 8:32 PM
Mark S Bailen’s short story “Bears Discover Time Travel” is free to read online for the next two weeks!
ecotonemagazine.org/fiction/bear...
@marksbailen.bsky.social
ecotonemagazine.org/fiction/bear...
@marksbailen.bsky.social
Here's a snotty little kid reading my picture book, Earf. Love when I get pics like this! BTW, Ingram is now letting folks buy direct, so you don't have to go through Amazon (cheaper too): shop.lightningsource.com/b/085?params...
January 16, 2025 at 4:32 PM
Here's a snotty little kid reading my picture book, Earf. Love when I get pics like this! BTW, Ingram is now letting folks buy direct, so you don't have to go through Amazon (cheaper too): shop.lightningsource.com/b/085?params...
In the Atocha train station in Madrid, we found the platform that leads to Jumanji.
December 9, 2024 at 2:07 PM
In the Atocha train station in Madrid, we found the platform that leads to Jumanji.
Vertical garden at CaxiaForum in Madrid. What an amazing work of art, like a living tapestry.
December 2, 2024 at 2:43 PM
Vertical garden at CaxiaForum in Madrid. What an amazing work of art, like a living tapestry.
After leaving Berlin we spent a few days in Madrid where I took a lousy photo of Guernica. This is a famous painting by Picasso with a long political history that delves into how the horrors of war are viewed by outsiders. Fascinating to see how people react to this painting today.
November 27, 2024 at 1:53 PM
After leaving Berlin we spent a few days in Madrid where I took a lousy photo of Guernica. This is a famous painting by Picasso with a long political history that delves into how the horrors of war are viewed by outsiders. Fascinating to see how people react to this painting today.
Bison at the Berlin Zoo. . . with odd-looking totem poles? And Pacific NW tribal art? Um. . . okay.
November 24, 2024 at 3:15 PM
Bison at the Berlin Zoo. . . with odd-looking totem poles? And Pacific NW tribal art? Um. . . okay.
No nature for you. . .
November 18, 2024 at 2:45 PM
No nature for you. . .
Lousy photo of favorite exhibit at the Berlin Zoo, a wonderfully messy fake mountain atop which mountain goats skirted dangerously on the edges of little cliffs. The critters were very active and I watched them for a long time. If you look close at the photo, you can see 4-5 of em.
November 14, 2024 at 1:57 PM
Lousy photo of favorite exhibit at the Berlin Zoo, a wonderfully messy fake mountain atop which mountain goats skirted dangerously on the edges of little cliffs. The critters were very active and I watched them for a long time. If you look close at the photo, you can see 4-5 of em.
Bear discovers mini-monolith at the Berlin zoo. . .
November 12, 2024 at 2:04 PM
Bear discovers mini-monolith at the Berlin zoo. . .
The inside of the Empire of Cats at the Berlin Zoo had this modern concrete brutalist bunker feel, with spurious explosions of nature.
November 10, 2024 at 3:31 PM
The inside of the Empire of Cats at the Berlin Zoo had this modern concrete brutalist bunker feel, with spurious explosions of nature.
The fake sky at Charlottenburg Palace. Back in the day, the skies were much more intense, full of trumpeting cherubs, golden crowns, and epic battles. Our present-day skies need to up their game.
November 7, 2024 at 10:27 PM
The fake sky at Charlottenburg Palace. Back in the day, the skies were much more intense, full of trumpeting cherubs, golden crowns, and epic battles. Our present-day skies need to up their game.
Tour guide at the Brandenburg Gate talks about military states, forced occupation, and damage that can occur from bombing campaigns. Luckily we don’t have to worry about these problems today.
November 7, 2024 at 10:26 PM
Tour guide at the Brandenburg Gate talks about military states, forced occupation, and damage that can occur from bombing campaigns. Luckily we don’t have to worry about these problems today.
Here’s a lousy photo of a small section of the Tempelhof, an old airfield turned into an over-900 acre park. These dudes were playing a massive game of four-square.
November 4, 2024 at 1:45 PM
Here’s a lousy photo of a small section of the Tempelhof, an old airfield turned into an over-900 acre park. These dudes were playing a massive game of four-square.
visited Berlin recently and learned what was behind the Berlin Wall. . . KFC!
October 29, 2024 at 7:19 PM
visited Berlin recently and learned what was behind the Berlin Wall. . . KFC!